Shaun sent me a sms from Stockholm – He’s at the airport and leaving for home now. I’m still in Amsterdam. I don’t know what to make of the sms. This moment, it felt surreal. Just not too long ago, I remember spending evenings having dinner with him at the now-defunct Canteen A talking about everything about our exchange. We were talking about which countries to choose and finally when it was decided that Sweden it will be, right till the last day of application we were still deciding on either Lulea or Linköping. And the reason for the final choice was that Lulea is too up north and cold, so Linköping it was.
Funny how difficult decision was decided by such simple reason, yet its consequences would have been massive.
5 months down the road, sometimes by air, sometimes by train, sometimes even by cruise, i’ve become a little traveling bug, hopping from cities to cities. Ask me to rank my favourite cities so far, and I could go ya-daa, ya-daa, ya-daa. But at the end of each travel, I’m always looking forward to go home – Ryd in Linköping. Venice is my favourite city, but Linköping is my home – my home away from home where my mum and dad are. In there, I’m a resident, I’m a student, I’m a corridor-hopper, I’m a Hemköper, even if I don’t speak any Swedish.
And suddenly I’m packing my bags, I’m vacating my room, I’m cleaning up my kitchen, I’m bidding farewell. I’m no longer a resident, I’m no longer a student, but this place holds a special spot in my mind and heart.
Cheryl was saying – “Leave behind your apprehensions and go out there and have fun’ before I left. She just came back from her exchange in Jonköping. Those words stuck to my mind, but I could never comprehend it properly. At that time, I just came back from a wonderful 2 weeks trip in Laos making many great friends and leaving behind many wonderful memories. How could I ever understand what she meant? And leaving behind many close friends from every corner, it just felt like I’m missing out on a lot of their lives.
Traveling for the first time, it was nervy, unsettling yet very exciting. Alas, I did lose my way, missed my train and cursed my bumpy start to this supposedly exciting journey. Thank God, Martin came and picked me up from the train station, was quickly introduced to my first new friends, first Korean friends too – Hansil, Jo and Yunman. Before I know it, I was thrown into more fikas, meeting even more new friends – Souhei, Machiko, Mijung, Eunseon, Alex, Mai, Shiho, Yuri, Johannes, Kent, Martin, Aki, Mariamme and more. Together, we had countless fikas, we ate good food together, we played games together, we got drunk together, we travelled together, we karaoke together, we countdown to the new year together, we took lots of pictures together, and we just had bloody loads of fun together!
I’m a firm believer of the ‘footprints theory’, that wherever we go, whatever we do, we always leave behind footprints in each others lives. Each of them left a set of unique footprints in me, some deeper than others, that I’m gonna remember for a long long time.
A decision I made 5 months ago. Came with 2 bags full of clothes and necessities, and a belly full of blessings and well-wishes. Now I’m on the verge heading back home, with the same 2 bags full of same clothes and necessities but another huge luggage filled with tonnes of memories and newfound friendships. Thai Airways says I’ve got only 30 kg to check-in, but I don’t think that’s enough because these stuff are going to last me a lifetime.
If I don’t like you, I wouldn’t miss you. How I hate occasions like this, how I hate leaving and farewells. But I guess the greater the pain of leaving, the more outstanding this experience must have been. Thank you for this chapter.